Foothold for dust-pans



(No Model.) 0. M. BARBER.

PooTHoLD PoR DUST PANS.

No. 510,762. Patented Deo. l2, 17893. l

UNITEIO` STATEs PATENT Trios.

oLlliM, BARBER, or PORT RICHMOND, NEW YORK.

FHOOTHQLD FOR DUST-PANIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part f Letters ramene No. 510,762, dated December 12, 11393,

Application med Jaume. 189e. serial No; 467,121. nro model.)

.To all whom it may-concern:

Be it known that I, OLIN M. BARBER, of Port Richmond, in the county of Richmond, and in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Footholds for Dust-Pans; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure lis a perspective view of a dust panV having my invention applied; Fig. 2 a bottoln view thereof; Fig.3 a longitudinal section Online .0c-, Fig. 2,and Fig. 4a perspective view of the foot hold alone.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in the several views.

My invention relates to foot holds for dust pans to enable them to be held to the floor by the foot of the pan user, so that the latter need not bend down to hold the pan with the hand, and can have both hands free to use the broom.

My object in making such invention' has been to provide a foot hold by which the front dust receiving edge of the pan will be closely and firmly held to the floor; which can be readily and easily attached to and detached from the pan; and which will be so simple as to be capable of ready and cheap manufacture and application to the pan.

To these ends, myinventionconsists in the foot hold, and its construction and combination with a dust pan, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

My invention is applicable to any form of dust pan, and hence I wish it understood that I do not limit lnyself to the one shown, which is the ordinary kind having a dat main portion with its forward edge adapted to rest upon the floor being swept, so that the dust' will easily pass from the floor over it, the dust retaining sides, and the upturned back, to which is attached the usual handle by which it can be carried in the hand.

The foot hold is shown as attached to the pan on its under side near its back end and constructed and arrangedso as to lift the latter from the floor for the purpose of causing the front edge to lie closely thereto, which, as is well known, is necessary to insure the passage of sweepings into and not under the pan; Said foot hold is illustrated as formed in a single piece of wire, and comprises the two downwardly and rearwardly extending arms A,A whose upper ends are connected in the manner to be described to the pan. and a piece ct to be engaged by the foot connecting their lower ends. The connecting piece a, doesnot run directly across from one arm to the other, but the wire is heut to carry it forward and upward from the point where the lower ends of said arms rest upon the floor. Downward pressllre upon the pieceawill, by reason of its being higher than and in advance of the lower, floor-engaging ends, of the arms A, A,draw the panfdownward,and cause its front, dust-receiving edge to be most firmly and closely pressed,and held, to the floor,and so eectually prevent any sweepings passing under said edge. This clamping, Or pressing, effect cannot be obtained by the use of footholds whose foot engaging parts rest upon the floor. The foot engaging piece a can be given any desired shape to enable it to act as a lever, with the floor engaging parts of the foot hold as fulcra, to draw the pan down, when pressed by the foot; but a simple and elicient v form is the one illustrated, which is a simple curve in the arc of a circle, and lying in a plane at an acute angle to a horizontal plane.

As far as the performance of the function above described is concerned, the foot hold maybe attached to the pan in any desirable way and at any preferred point. I, however, prefer the attaching means shown, as being very desirable because of extreme simplicity and cheapness, and as permitting the easy and ready connection and separation of the foot hold and pan, the latter being of especial moment as with the foot holds removed from the pans, the pans can be compactly nested for the purpose of economizing space in shipping and storing. Such attaching means comprise two loops b, b projecting downward from the pan bottom, near the rear edge thereof and at points equi-distant from its transverse center, and a short straight, forwardly and downwardly inclined arm a at the free end of each side arm A of the foothold to engage one of the loops, by beinginserted therein from the rear end. The arms a are not extended directly from the side arms A, A, but from a short, right angled, outward extension a2 from said side arm. This extension a2 is a source of strength as it increases the surface engag- IOO ing the pan bottom. The loops Z), b may be formed separately' from the pan and attached thereto by riveting or soldering, but preferably they are made by offsetting or projecting downward a suitable portion of the pan bottom foreach and then perforating the ends of this portion. By this expedient, the disadvantages of riveting, soldering and the like, are avoided, and simplification and cheapening of the device obtained.

The attachment of the foot hold to the pan is eifected simply by passing the arms a', a through the loops, and its detachment by Withdrawing said arms.

For the purpose of increasing the vdoor-engagingfulcrum-forming part of my foot hold, a short, straight, horizontally extending piece a3 yis provided at each side between the extremities of the arched or curved piece a and the lower end of each side arm A.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. In combination with a dust pan having loops on its bottom, a foot hold made in one piece of wire comprising two downwardly and rearwardly extending arms, whose upper ends have forward and downward extensions engaging such loops, and whose lower ends rest upon the floor, and a foot engaging piece connecting said lower ends, and extending upward and forward therefrom, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In combination with a dust pan having loops on its under side, a foot hold made in one piece of wire, comprising two downwardly and rearwardly extending arms Whose upper ends are carried laterally and then downward and forward and engage said loops, and whose lower ends have straight inwardly and horizontally extending oor engaging portions from the inner ends of which rises a forwardly extending, arched, foot engaging portion, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

In testimony that I claim .the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 23d-day of December, 1892.

OLIN M. BARBER. Witnesses:

WM. H. LEE, ALFRED E. MosHEit. 

